Systems for linking the ends of material



Oct. 25, 1966 J. B. NASWORTHY 3,280,435

SYSTEMS FOR LINKING THE ENDS OF MATERIAL Original Filed Dec. 14, 1961 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Joy/M A/wwom/y ATTOR/VE Y5 Oct. 25, 1966 J. B. NASWORTHY 3,280,435

SYSTEMS FOR LINKING THE ENDS OF MATERIAL Original Filed Dec. 14, 1961 2S eets-s 2 I N VEN TOR.

J q w 15. A/nswamyy United States Patent 3,280,435 SYSTEMS FUR LINKINGTHE ENDS 0F MATERIAL John B. Nasworthy, Savannah, Ga., assignor toNasworthy Fasteners, Inc., Savannah, Ga., a corporation of GeorgiaContinuation of application Ser. No. 159,376, Dec. 14,

1961. This appiication July 21, 1965, Ser. No. 477,348

- 14 Claims. (CI. 24-33) This application is a continuation of myapplication Serial No. 159,376, filed December 14, 1961, entitledSystems for Linking the Ends of Material, now abancloned.

This invention rel-ates to a system for linking the ends of material andmore particularly refers to a tool and method for joining the ends ofdrier felts to make the felts continuous.

The general object of this invention is to provide an improved tool andmethod for linking the ends of material.

A specific object of this invention is to provide a fastening tool andmethod which reduce the time required in joining the ends of sheetmaterial.

Another specific object of this invention is the provision of a durablejoint linking sheet material end portions accurately and securely.

A particular object of this invention is the provision of improvedfastening elements for attachment to the ends of sheet material or drierfelt.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of thisinvention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. Theinvention, itself, however, both as to its organization and method ofoperation, to-

gether with further objects and advantages thereof, may

best be understood by reference to the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view on an enlarged scale of ajoint linking the fastening elements attached to the sheet material endportions by sliding a tool therealong which passes a linking cablethrough the elements, the tool being more clearly shown in FIGURES 4, 5,6 and 7; 7

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of the cable shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective exploded view of the improved fasteningelement shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view of the tool of FIG- URE 1 partially insection;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the tool of FIGURES 1 and 4,partially broken away;

FIGURE 6 is a front elevational view of the tool taken along line 66 ofFIGURE 5, including a fastening element in broken lines; and

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view of the tool taken along line 77 of FIGURE5.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIGURE 1 illustrates theend portions 10 and 11 of sheet material or drier felt 12 being linkedtogether by the sliding tool 15 dnawing a linking cable 16 through thecorresponding overlapped and aligned fastening elements 17 and 18attached to respective end portions 11 and 10 of felt 12.

The fastening elements 17 and 18, in accordance with this invention, areshown to be substantially the same and the description of element 19 inFIGURE 3 will be understood to refer to each of the fastening elements17 and 18 of FIGURE 1. Fastening element 19 comprises an elongated bodymember 20 having means, generally designated 23, at one end portion 21thereof for attachment to one of the sheet material end portions 10 and11 of FIGURE estates Patented Oct. 25, 1966 1. The means 23 forattachment is specifically shown as including a slot or materialreceiving passageway 22 interrupting end portion 21 of body member 20.Body member 20 further includes spaced arms 24 and 25 definingrespective sides of passageway 22, and respective tabs in the form ofbarbs 26 and 27 are connected to arms 24 and 25 and extend intopassageway 22. For example, when sheet material 12 is disposed withinpassageway 22 and the arms 24 and 25 are forcibly moved toward eachother, arms 24 and 25 compress the material while barbs 26 and 27penetrate the material for securely at taching fastening element 19thereto.

The other end portion 30 of body member 20 comprises a cable receivingpassageway 31 extending therethrough and an access passageway 32interrupting body member 20 and opening inwardly at one end 33 into thecable receiving passageway 31 and opening outwardly of body member 20 atits other end 34. Passageway 32. constitutes a slot extending betweenedge 35 of body member 24} and passageway 31. Slot or passageway 32permits a portion of tool 15 to pass therethrough, as the tool 15 isbeing moved along the fastening elements 17 and 18.

Body member 20 includes caging means designated 36 between the cablereceiving passageway 31 and access passageway 32 for blocking the accesspassageway end 33. The caging means, as shown in FIGURE 3, includes apair of shoulders 37 extending from body member 20 into and betweenpassageways 31 and 32. These shoulders 37 prevent the cable 16 fromlateral movement through access passageway 32 when cable 16 is drawnthrough passageway 31 by tool 15, as will be more specifically describedhereinafter. I The fastening element 19 has a wing portion 40 adjacentend portion 30 of body member 20 adapted and arranged to be fittin glydisposed Within a complementary guideway 50 of the tool 15 as clearlyshown in FIGURE 6. Wing portion 41) is specifically shown as being wedgeshaped and formed by the intersecting edges 35 and 36 of body member 20,it being understood that other shapes for the wing portion 40 could beused in accordance with the present invention without departuretherefrom.

The elongated cable 16 is shown in FIGURE 2 and includes retaining meansconnected thereto for maintaining cable 16 from being displaced in alongitudinal direction after cable 16 has been drawn through theoverlapped fastening elements 17 and 18 of FIGURE 1. The retaining meanscomprises a stop element 42 attached to the trailing end 43 of cable 16and a removable pin 45 which extends through the leading end 44 thereof.The leading end 44 of cable 16 is externally threaded for releasablyattaching the cable 16 to tool 15, as described hereinbelow.

Tool 15, in accordance with the present invention, comprises anelongated base member 47, a handle 48 attached to and extendinglaterally from base member 47, and an elongated guideway 50 within basemember 47. Guideway 50 has an entrance 51 at the forward end 52 of basemember 47 and an exit 53 at the rearward end 54 thereof. Guideway 50tapers between entrance 51 and a point 55 adjacently spaced from exit53. Between point 55 and exit 53 guideway 50 is substantially straightand need not be tapered for reasons which will be apparent from thefurther description of tool 15.

Guideway 51 comprises a pair of wedge shaped grooves and 61 which arecomplementary with wedge'shaped wing portion 411 of fastening element19. Between grooves 60 and 61 a support 62 is connected to base member47 adjacent the forward end 52 and extend into guideway 50. A platform63 is mounted on the outer extremity 64 of support 62, platform 63 beingsubstantially parallel to base member 47. As shown in FIGURE 6, thefastening element 65, shown by broken lines, enters the guideway 50 atthe entrance 51 thereof with the element 65 having its bottom edge 66supported by platform 63 and/ or its wing portion 67 fittingly disposedwithin groove 65) of guideway 50. Platform 63 extends from the forwardportion 52 of body member 47 to a point rearwardly spaced therefrom. Thefastening elements are prevented from falling from the tool 15 afterentering tool 15 at the forward end 52 by the platform 63 and/or thegrooves 60 and 61 of the guideway 50, wherea the fastening elements areprevented from falling from tool 15 adjacent the rearward end portion 54by having the wing portions fittingly disposed within grooves 60 and 61.

Tool 15 further includes holding means generally designated at 79connected to base member 47 adjacent the rearward portion 54 thereof forreleasably connecting cable 16 thereto. The holding means 70specifically comprises a support 71 having one end 72 connected to basemember 47 and extending laterally into guideway 56 adjacent the exit 53.End 73 of support 71 mounts an elongated rod in the form of a needle 75generally parallel with the elongated guideway 50, needle 75 having apointed leading end 76 adjacent point 55 which approximately designatesthe termination of the taper for guideway 50. The trailing end 77 ofneedle 75 is threaded internally to detachably receive therein thecomplementary external threads 46 on leading end 44 of cable 16.

The system and method of joining the end portion 18 and 11 of the drierfelt 12 will be more clearly understood by referring to FIGURE 1. Thefastening elements 17 and 18 are attached to respective spaced apart endportions 11 and of felt 12. The fastening elements 1'7 include materialreceiving passageways 80 and the fastening elements 18 have similarpassageways 81, passageways 80 and 81 being identical to passageway 22of element 18. The elements 17 further include cable receivingpassageways 82, access passageways 83 and wing portions 84, respectivelyidentical to passageway 31, passageway 32 and wing portion 40 of element19. Elements 18 similarly have cable receiving passageways (not shown),access passageways 85 and wing portions 86.

A cable 16 is attached to tool 15 by threading the leading end 44 of thecable 16 into the trailing end portion 77 of needle 75. Handle 48 isgrasped by hand and the fastening elements 17 and 18 adjacent one side(not shown) of the sheet material 12 are passed into the tool 15 a atits forward end 52. These elements 17 and 18 have their wing portions 84disposed in a groove 61 and wing portions 85 disposed in groove 60. Asthe tool 15 slides along the opposing fastening elements 17 and 18, thefastening elements within guideway 50* progress from the entrance 51 toa point 55 adjacent the leading end 76 of needle 75. As these opposingelements progress through the tapered guideway 50, such elements aredrawn together into an overlapped relation such that the correspondingopposing elements have their respective access passageways as well astheir respective cable receiving passageways in registering alignmentwith respect to each other. As tool 15 is further moved along thefastening elements, the overlapped fastening elements progress frompoint 55 toward exit 53 of guideway 50. The needle 75 is drawn throughthe aligned cable receiving passageways and the support 71 passesthrough the aligned access passageways of the overlapped elements beforesuch elements are expelled from exit 53 of passageway 50. Upon furthermovement of tool 15 the cable 16 is drawn through the aligned cablereceiving passageways of the overlapped fastening elements after suchelement leave guideway exit 53. After the cable 16 is passed through allof the cable receiving passageways of all the elements 17 and 18attached to respective end portions 11 and 10 of sheet material 12, thetool 15 is detached from the cable 16 and a pin is inserted throughcable 16 to substantially prevent disengaging movement of the cable 16from the cable receiving passageways along the cables longitudinal axis.

It is to be noted that the caging shoulders, identical to shoulders 37of element 19, of the fastening elements 17 and 18 substantially preventany disengaging lateral movement of the cable 16 from the cablereceiving passageways through the access passageways thereof.

It will be apparent from the specific descriptions below of a typicalfastening element cable and tool, that the cable receiving passagewaysare of a predetermined diameter and the cable diameter is slightlysmaller than the diameters of the cable receiving passageways. The widthof the slots or access passageways is slightly smaller than the diameterof the cable whereby the cable is prevented from movement laterally fromthe cable receiving passageways through the access passageways.

A typical fastening element in accordance with the invention comprises ametal body having a length of approximately one inch with the tip of thewing portion being disposed midway between its ends and the slanted edgeof the wing portion is at forty-five degrees with respect to thehorizontal. The cable receiving passageway is five-thirtysecond inch indiameter and the width of the access passageway or slot isthree-thirtysecond inch.

A sliding tool used to link the fastening elements attached along eachend portion of the sheet material comprises a metal base member having alength of eight inches, the guideway extending through the base memberbeing about one and one-half inches at the forward end and tapering downto eleven-sixteenth inch at the rearward end. The grooves forming theguideway are approximately complementary with the wing portions of thefastening elements to receive the wing portions therein. The width ofthe needle support is about onesixteenth inch and the needle diameter isabout one-eighth inch.

The cable has a diameter of one-eighth inch and the stop isapproximately three-sixteenth inch in diameter.

While only certain preferred embodiments of this invention have beenshown and described by way of illustration, many modifications willoccur to those skilled in the art and it is, therefore, desired that itbe understood that it is intended in the appended claims to cover allsuch modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of thisinvention.

What is claimed as new and what it is desired to secure by LettersPatent of the United States is:

1. The system of linking the spaced apart end portions of sheet materialcomprising elongated fastening elements atached along one said endportion, corresponding elongated fastening elements operatively disposedand attached at one of their ends along the other said end portion, eachsaid element and said corresponding element including an elongated bodyhaving opposite ends, each said body having a cable receiving passagewayextending therethrough adjacent one of its said ends, the other of saidbody ends being adapted for attachment to respective said sheet materialend portions, an access passageway interrupting said body adjacent itssaid one end and opening inwardly at one end into said cable receivingpassageway and opening outwardly of said body at its other end, saidbody further including a wedge-shaped guideable wing portion spacedlybetween said body ends, an elongated cable for solely linking saidelements and said corresponding elements, a cable drawing tool forlinking said elements and said corresponding elements, said toolcomprising a base member having an entrance portion and an exit portion,a guideway through said base member tapering between said entranceportion and said exit portion thereof, holding means connected to saidbase member and extending into said guideway adjacent said exit portionfor detachably connecting said cable thereto, said tool slidablyengaging said elements and said corresponding elements with said wingportion of each said element and corresponding element entering saidguideway at said entrance portion and overlapping said elements and saidcorresponding elements as they are progressing through said guidewayfrom said entrance portion toward said exit portion, said cablereceiving passageway and said access passageway of each said overlappedelement and said corresponding element being respectively in registeringalignment, said tool holding means being passed through said alignedaccess passageways and said holding means and said cable being passedthrough said aligned cable receiving passageways whereby said overlappedelements are linked solely by said cable.

2. The system of linking the spaced apart end portions of sheet materialcomprising elements attached along one said end portion, correspondingelements operatively disposed and attached along the other said endportion, each said element and said corresponding element including anelongated body having a cable receiving passageway therethrough adjacentone of its ends, the other of said body ends being adapted forattachment to respective said sheet material end portions, an accesspassageway interrupting said body and opening inwardly at one end intosaid cable receiving passageway and opening outwardly of said body atits other end, said body further including a guidable wing portionspacedly between said body ends, means for linking said elements andsaid corresponding elements, said means including an elongated basemember and a guideway through said base member tapering between the endsthereof, said means further including an elongated cable for providingthe sole con- 1 nection between said elements and holding meansextending into said guideway adjacent the tapered end portion fordetachably connecting said cable thereto, said means slidably engagingsaid elements and said corresponding elements with said wing portion ofeach said element and corresponding element entering said guideway atthe end portion opposite said tapered end portion and overlapping saidelements and said corresponding elements as they are progressing throughsaid guideway from said opposite end portion toward said tapered endportion, said cable receiving passageway and said a cess passageway ofeach said overlapped element and said corresponding element beingrespectively in registering alignment, said means having its saidholding means passed through said aligned access passageways and saidholding means and said cable passed through said aligned cable receivingpassageways whereby said overlapped elements are linked.

3. A joint linking two sheet material end portions, said material endportions being spaced apart a predetermined distance, a plurality ofelongated elements attached to each of said material end portions andextending therefrom into the space therebetween, an elongated cable,each of said elements including an elongated body having attaching meansat one end portion thereof for connection to said material end portions,the other end portion of said body including a cable receivingpassageway theretnrough, said body at said other end portion having anedge and a slot in said edge communicating at its inner end with saidpassageway, the elements on each of said material end portionsoverlapping at their other end portions the elements on the other ofsaid material end portions and cooperating therewith to provide aplurality of sets of overlapping fastening element end portions spacedapart in a direction axially of the cable receiving passageways, saidcable passing through said passageway of each of said elements, each ofsaid fastening elements having guide means between said body endportions engageable by a tool for moving said fastening elements on onematerial end portion toward said fastening elements on the othermaterial end portion, and retaining means attached to the respective endportions of said cable to maintain said cable within said passageway ofeach said element from movement therethrough, each said body furtherincluding caging means to maintain said cable within each saidpassageway from movement through said slot.

4. A joint linking two spaced apart ends of a drier felt comprising aplurality of fastening elements attached to each of the ends of saiddrier felt, each fastening element including an elongated body extendinginto the space between said ends of the drier felt, each fasteningelement body being attached to one of said ends of the drier felt andextending generally parallel to and in overlapping relation to afastening element body respectively associated with the other end of thedrier felt, and means connecting the fastening elements associated withone end of the drier :felt to the fastening elements associated with theother end of the drier felt consisting of an elongated cable and meansproviding openings in the overlapping fastening element bodies receivingsaid cable, each of said bodies being provided with an access openingextending inwardly at right angles to the axis of the cable receivingopening in the body and having a width less than the diameter of saidca-ble thereby preventing the cable from laterally passing therethrough,guide means on each of said fastening elements adjacent said cablereceiving opening engageable by a tool to move said fastening elementsconnected to one drier felt end toward said fastening elements connectedto the other drier felt end, and releasable means connected to saidcable and preventing inadvertent withdrawal of the cable from the cablereceiving openings in the fastening element bodies.

5. A joint linking two sheet material end portions spaced apart apredetermined distance comprising a plurality of elongated fasteningelements attached at one end to each of said end portions and extendingtherefrom into the space between said end portions, each fasteningelement associated with one of said end portions being disposed inoverlapping relation to a next adjacent fastening element on the otherof said end portions, each of said fastening elements having guide meansbetween their respective ends engageable by a tool to move saidfastening elements on one end portion toward said fastening elements onthe other end portion, an elongated cable, the overlapping fasteningelements being provided with openings receiving said cable, eachfastening element hav ing an edge and a slot in said edge communicatingat its inner end with the cable receiving opening in the element, theoppositely facing overlapping portions of each next adjacent pair ofoverlapping fastening elements being smooth and free of any interlockingirregularities, each fastening element further including means forblocking said inner end of said slot therein whereby said cable isprevented from lateral movement therethrough, and means attached to therespective end portions of said cable to maintain said cable within saidcable receiving openings in the fastening elements thereby preventinginadvertent longitudinal withdrawal of the cable from said cablereceiving openings.

6. A fastening element comprising an elongated planar body member havingmeans at one end thereof for attaching said element to sheet material, acable receiving passageway extending through said body member betweenthe planar surfaces there-of at its other end, said body having an edgeand a slot extending from said edge adjacent said other end of the bodymember into communication with said cable receiving passageway, saidslot having a width substantially less than the diameter of said cablereceiving passageway thereby to prevent a cable received in saidpassageway from movement through said slot, said body member having asecond edge disposed intermediate said cable receiving passageway andsaid one end of the body member and inclined inwardly of said bodymember from said first edge toward said cable receiving passagewaythereby providing a cam surface adapted and arranged to be engaged by acomplemental surface of a guideway of a tool.

7. The system for linking the spaced apart end portions of sheetmaterial comprising elements attached along one said end portion spacedeach from the next, corresponding elements operatively disposed andattached along the other said end portion spaced each from the next,each said element and said corresponding element including an elongatedbody having a cable receiving passageway adjacent one of its ends, theother of said body ends being adapted for attachment to respective saidsheet material end portions, an access passageway interrupting said bodyand opening inwardly at one end into said cable receiving passageway andopening outwardly of said body at its other end, said body furtherincluding guide means between said body ends, mechanical means forlinking said elements and said corresponding elements, said mechanicalmeans including an elongated base memher and a guideway through saidbase member tapering between the ends thereof, said mechanical meansfurther including an elongated cable for providing the sole connectionbetween said elements and holding means extending into said guidewayadjacent the tapered end portion for detachably connecting said cablethereto, said mechanical means slidably engaging said elements and saidcorresponding elements with said guide means of each said element andcorresponding element entering said guideway at the end portion oppositesaid tapered end portion and moving said elements and said correspondingelements toward each other as they are progressing through said guidewayfrom said opposite end portion toward said tapered end portion, saidelements and said corresponding elements being overlapped by saidmechanical means with their said cable receiving passageways and saidaccess passageways respectively in registering alignment, saidmechanical means having its said holding means passed through saidaligned access passageways and said holding means and said cable passedthrough said aligned cable receiving passageways whereby said overlappedelements are linked solely by said cable.

8. The system of linking the spaced apart end portions of sheet materialcomprising elements attached along one said end portion, correspondingelements operatively disposed and attached along the other said endportion, each said element and said corresponding element including anelongated body having a cable receiving passageway therethrough adjacentone of its ends, the other of said body ends being attached torespective said sheet material end portions, an access passagewayinterrupting said body and opening inwardly at one end into said cablereceiving passageway and opening outwardly of said body at its otherend, said body further including a guidable carnming surface portionbetween said body ends, means for linking said elements and saidcorresponding elements, said means including an elongated taperingguideway for engaging said camming surface portion, said rneans furtherincluding an elongated cable for providing the sole connection betweensaid elements and holding means extending into said guideway adjacentthe most tapered end portion thereof for detachably connecting saidcable thereto, said means slidably engaging said elements and saidcorresponding elements with said camming surface portion of each saidelement and corresponding element entering said guideway at the endportion opposite said tapered end portion and overlapping said elementsand said corresponding elements, said cable receiving passageway andsaid access passageway of each said overlapped element and saidcorresponding element being respectively in registering alignment, saidmeans having its said holding means passed through said aligned accesspassageways and said holding means and said cable passed through saidaligned cable receiving passageways whereby said overlapped elements arelinked.

9. A joint linking two spaced apart end portions of sheet materialcomprising a plurality of fastening elements attached to each of saidends of said sheet material, each fastening element including anelongated body extending into the space between said ends of the sheetmaterial, each fastening element body being attached to one of said endsof the sheet material and extending generally parallel to and inoverlapping relation to a fastening element body respectively associatedwith the other end of the sheet material, and means connecting thefastening elements associated with said sheet material one end to thefastening elements associated with said sheet material, other endconsisting of an elongated cable and openings within the bodies of theoverlapping fastening elements for receiving said cable, each of saidbodies being provided with an access opening extending inwardly of thecable receiving opening in said body and having a width less than thediameter of said cable thereby preventing the cable from laterallypassing therethrough, camming means on each of said fastening elementbodies between the ends thereof and adjacent said cable receivingopening engageable by a tool to move said fastening elements connectedto one sheet material end toward said fastening elements. connected tothe other sheet material end, and releaseable means connected to saidcable and preventing inadvertent withdrawal of the cable from the cablereceiving openings.

10. A fastening element comprising an elongated planar body memberhaving means at one end thereof for attaching said element to sheetmaterial, a cable receiving passageway extending through said bodymember between the planar surfaces thereof at its other end, said planarsurfaces being free of interlocking irregularities, said body having anedge and a slot extending from said edge adjacent said other end of thebody member into communication with said cable receiving passageway,said slot having a width substantially less than the diameter of saidcable receiving passageway thereby to prevent a cable receiving in saidpassageway from movement through said slot, said body member having acamming edge disposed intermediate said cable receiving passageway andsaid one end of the body member and extending inwardly of said bodymember from said first edge thereby providing a cam surface adapted andarranged to be engaged by a complemental surface of a guideway of atool.

11. A fastening element comprising an elongated planar body memberhaving one end thereof adapted to be attached to sheet material, saidone end including a pair of spaced arms for the reception therebetweenof an edge of the sheet material, each said arm having a barb extendinginto the space between said arms for secure connection with the sheetmaterial, said body having an edge and a slot extending from said edgeadjacent said other end of the body member into communication with saidcable receiving passageway, said slot having a width substantially lessthan the diameter of said cable receiving passageway thereby to preventa cable received in said passageway from movement through said slot,said body member having a second edge disposed intermediate said cablereceiving passageway and said one end of the body member and extendinginwardly of said body member from said first edge thereby providing acamming surface adapted and arranged to be engaged by a complementalsurface of a guideway of a tool.

12. A fastening element comprising an elongated planar body memberhaving one end portion for attaching said element to an edge of sheetmaterial, said one end portion including a pair of arms spaced apart forthe re ception therebetween of the edge of a sheet material said one endportion having a shoulder between said arms for the abutment of the edgeof sheet material, a cable receiving passageway extending through saidbody member between the planar surfaces thereof at its other end, saidbody having an edge and a slot extending from said edge adjacent saidother end of the body member into communication with said cablereceiving passageway, said slot having a width substantially less thanthe diameter of said cable receiving passageway thereby to prevent acable received in said passageway from movement through said slot, saidbody member having a second edge disposed intermediate said cablereceiving passageway and said shoulder between said arms of said bodymember and extending inwardly of said body member from said first edgethereby providing a cam surface adapted and arranged to be engaged by acomplemental surface of a guideway of a tool.

13. A method of linking a plurality of fastening elements attached toone end portion of sheet material with a plurality of fastening elementsattached to the other end portion thereof wherein each of the fasteningelements includes a planar body member free from interlockingirregularities and having a cable receiving passageway and an accesspassageway interrupting the body member and communicating with itsrespective cable receiving passageway comprising moving a fasteningelement engaging tool along said body portion of each said fasteningelement to overlap said fastening elements on said one end portion withsaid fastening elements on said other end portion thereby aligning thecable receiving passageways of the overlapped fastening elements andaligning the access passageways thereof, advancing said tool along theoverlapped fastening elements to pass a cable connecting support thereofthrough the aligned access passageways and to pass said support with thecable releasably connected thereto through said aligned cable receivingpassageways and linking the overlapped fastening elements with only thecable interconnecting same, removing said cable passed through saidoverlapped fastening elements from said tool, and maintaining said cablefrom inadvertent withdrawal from said cable receiving passageways afterremoval from said tool.

14. A tool for linking the fastening elements on one end portion ofsheet material with the corresponding fastening elements on the otherend portion of sheet material wherein each fastening element includes acable receiving passageway and an access passageway communicatingtherewith comprising a base member having an entrance portion and anexit portion, a handle attached to said base member, a guideway throughsaid base member extending respectively between said entrance portionand said exit portion thereof, a rod, support means connected to saidmember for positioning said rod within said exit portion, releaseableconnecting means for detachably joining the cabe to said rod, a platformsupported by said base below said guideway adjacent said entranceportion and terminating at its rearward end forwardly of said rod, saidtool being adapted and arranged to admit the fastening elements of theend portions of sheet material within said guideway at said entranceportion and to overlap the fastening elements with their cable receivingpassageways and their access passageways in respective register and topass said rod and the cable through the registered cable receivingpassageways while said support means is passed through the registeredaccess passageways, said tool linking the registered cable receivingpassageways solely with the cable before said tool releases theoverlapped fastening elements.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,108,748 8/1914Hampton. 2,629,909 3/ 1953 Hall 24-33 FOREIGN PATENTS 428,469 5/ 1935Great Britain.

658,595 10/1951 Great Britain.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

MILTON S. MEI-IR, Examiner.

1. THE SYSTEM OF LINKING THE SPACED APART END PORTIONS OF SHEET MATERIALCOMPRISING ELONGATED FASTENING ELEMENTS ATACHED ALONG ONE SAID ENDPORTION, CORRESPONDING ELONGATED FASTENING ELEMENTS OPERATIVELY DISPOSEDAND ATTACHED AT ONE OF THEIR ENDS ALONG THE OTHER SAID END PORTION, EACHSAID ELEMENT AND SAID CORRESPONDING ELEMENT INCLUDING AN ELONGATED BODYHAVING OPPOSITE ENDS, EACH SAID BODY HAVING A CABLE RECEIVING PASSAGEWAYEXTENDING THERETHROUGH ADJACENT ONE OF ITS SAID ENDS, THE OTHER OF SAIDBODY ENDS BEING ADAPTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO RESPECTIVE SAID SHEET MATERIALEND PORTIONS, AN ACCESS PASSAGEWAY INTERRUPTING SAID BODY ADJACENT ITSSAID ONE END AND OPENING INWARDLY AT ONE END INTO SAID CABLE RECEIVINGPASSAGEWAY AND OPENING OUTWARDLY OF SAID BODY AT ITS OTHER END, SAIDBODY FURTHER INCLUDING A WEDGE-SHAPED GUIDEABLE WING PORTION SPACEDLYBETWEEN SAID BODY ENDS, AN ELONGATED CABLE FOR SOLELY LINKING SAIDELEMENTS AND SAID CORRESPONING ELEMENTS, A CABLE DRAWING TOOL FORLINKING SAID ELEMENTS AND SAID CORRESPONDING ELEMENTS, SAID TOOLCOMPRISING A BASE MEMBER HAVING AN ENTRANCE PORTION AND AN EXIT PORTION,A GUIDEWAY THROUGH SAID BASE MEM-